


Encounter

by eiramrelyat



Series: Tumblr Prompts [1]
Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-08
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:40:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24604051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eiramrelyat/pseuds/eiramrelyat
Summary: Response to prompt: "I like this. A quiet breakfast with you."
Relationships: Katniss Everdeen/Peeta Mellark
Series: Tumblr Prompts [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1778602
Comments: 14
Kudos: 72





	Encounter

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jroseley](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jroseley/gifts).



> This was written for jroseley on Tumblr:) It was meant to be a drabble, but I had fun with this and needed more than a few paragraphs. Ha! Enjoy!

Katniss shoveled cereal into her mouth with one hand while she hastily brushed through her tangled rat's nest with the other. She forgot to set the alarm from the night before, and the constant thud of a headboard hitting her bedroom wall didn't aid in getting a full night's sleep either.

"Jesus, Everdeen, where's the fire?"

She glared up at her short-haired roommate. "Really, Jo? You couldn't bang this guy at his place last night? Some of us have to wake up early for an actual adult job."

Johanna padded over to the cupboard where they kept the cereal bowls. "Everyone tries to get famous on the internet these days. It's not my fault you chose a boring career." She pulled out a bowl with a straw attached, frowning down at it. "Do you think you could at least buy some adult bowls with your _adult job_? It's embarrassing that I have to pull out these toddler bowls when I have guests over."

Katniss scoffed, "says the one that lives in my apartment." Suddenly, she lost her appetite for the bowl of Mini-Wheats at the mention of Johanna's guests using their kitchenware, choking the spoonful down in her mouth. 

Johanna must see the look of distaste on Katniss's face as a smirk twisted her mouth. "These are not guys I pick off the streets, Katniss. They're guys I know that are interested in what I offer."

That didn't make Katniss feel any better. She'd met a few people that Jo was friends with, and that was cause enough to be wary of the men she brought over. "Just don't let… don't let them touch anything."

Jo rolled her eyes. "We clean up after ourselves, we're not animals." But her roommate shot her a wink, and Katniss cringed, knowing that one of her closest friends had somehow found a career as an online pornstar.

Katniss pushed back from the table and carried her now soggy cereal to the sink. She wrapped her hair into a low bun, hurrying around the compact kitchen to grab the few things she took with her to the hospital. As she was about to leave, a rather naked man appeared in the entryway near the fridge. His bronze hair laid in a tousled mess on his head, and sea-green eyes scoped the room.

"Good morning," he greeted Katniss with a relaxed smile.

With a quick nod, Katniss snatched her lunch bag off of the counter and strode toward the door, flinging it open and closing it too harshly behind her. She knew Jo would call her a prude later, for how red she'd become in the face. But she didn't have time to think about that now, as she looked down at her watch and saw that she only had fifteen minutes to drive to work.

Surprisingly, Katniss made it to work with three minutes to spare and most likely received a speeding ticket. She hurried toward the break room to throw her lunch into the fridge and retrieved her badge from her locker. Too preoccupied with attaching the clip to her scrubs, Katniss bumped into someone as she was walking out to the nurses' station. She stumbled back from the impact, but a pair of strong hands caught her.

She looked up to apologize, but her apology sat lodged in her throat as she gazed into the bluest eyes she'd ever seen. Katniss forced herself to blink, and she took in the rest of his face. From his perfectly sloped nose, down to his angular chin, then back up to his eyes. They reflected a hint of concern, and Katniss realized she was still gripping the front of his light-blue scrubs.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going... are you okay?" he asked as his hand fell from her elbow.

Katniss nodded and released his now crumpled top. "Ah, yeah. Sorry, I wasn't looking either. It seems that we are both at fault." The joke was dry, her insides recoiling from how lame she must sound.

Yet, the smile he gave her was purely genuine. "I suppose you're right." He held out his hand for her to shake, "Peeta."

She took his hand, feeling slightly surprised to find them rough. For some reason, she figured they'd be as smooth as the rest of his features. "Katniss." She released his hand, then.

"Katniss? That should be easy to remember," he smiled widely at her. It's been a while since she talked to a guy, so she couldn't tell if he was flirting with her or being friendly. Peeta glanced down at his watch then back up at Katniss. "It was nice meeting you Katniss, I'll see you around?"

"I mean, we do work on the same floor." The words tumbled out of her mouth, and she wanted to slap herself in the forehead, but the joke earned her a quiet chuckle. Maybe Peeta was nice, after all. Who would laugh at her pathetic attempts at being funny?

Remembering that she had a shift she needed to get to, Katniss offered him a slight smile, before heading to the charts near Delly's computer. But her head was still so preoccupied with the man in the break room.

"Have a nice day ladies," Katniss heard Peeta tell her, Delly, and Clove, as he walked out of the other room with a duffle bag slung over his shoulder.

"See you, Peeta," Delly said, then she looked over at Katniss when he was out of view."He's so handsome," she whispered unnecessarily. "He's the new student doctor for Dr. Aurelius. He seems really nice."

Clove snorted at this, and Katniss scowled at the short brunette for eavesdropping. "Yeah, right. I heard he's been getting cozy with a few of the nurses on the night shift. Sounds like another student doctor that wants to feel his way around the nurses' station."

Katniss felt the scowl on her face deepen at the new bit of information. Peeta didn't seem like the type, yet what person would openly admit that they'd effectively sleep with a bunch of people? She tried not to ponder about it too much; it wasn't any of her business.

* * *

The next day Katniss arrived at work, Peeta was in the break room again, sticking dirty Tupperware into an orange lunch bag. This time he had on a white coat, blending him in with the other doctors on the surgical floor. He doesn't notice her enter the room, and Katniss didn't know how to talk about anything else except work. So, she moved to put her food in the fridge, not saying anything at all.

Katniss made slow progress on attaching her badge to her uniform, curious to see if he'd be the first to say something. He had to know she was in the room by now. When he remained quiet, Katniss thought it would be awkward to walk out of the room without a word. Running her hands over her scrubs, she cleared her throat.

"Uh, how was night shift?" Could she really not think of anything else?

Peeta turned, giving her a slight upturn of his mouth. "Oh, hey, Katniss." His voice was devoid of any sincere enthusiasm at seeing her. Then she noticed the purple circles under his eyes. "It was all right. Uh, how was yesterday?"

Her lips twisted to the side, "all right. I guess." Katniss turned toward the door, feeling that she already did her part. She at least tried to make conversation, right?

As she was about to leave the room, Peeta added, "have a nice day Katniss."

She glanced over at him to see a smile tug on his mouth. "Er, thanks. You too," and with a quick smile, she left the room to start her shift.

* * *

Again, Katniss was running late from another sleepless night brought on by one of Jo's noisy rendezvous. She strode into the break room and found Peeta talking to Glimmer- the charge nurse for the night shift. She giggled annoyingly at something he said, Katniss couldn't decide if she wanted to laugh or vomit at the exchange. Instead, she ignored them, going through her usual routine before she started her shift.

Her mind flickered back to what Clove said the other day, about Peeta being _friendly_ with the other female nurses. Most things that Clove said, Katniss never took literally. The woman would rather spread gossip than do her actual job, though, Katniss couldn't help feel that maybe she'd been right this time.

She grabbed a carrot from her lunch bag, missing breakfast entirely that morning, and made to leave the room, but Glimmer had other plans for her.

"You're late, Katniss." Glimmer gave Katniss a pointed look, bringing her right hand to rest on her hip.

Katniss swallowed the mushy carrot, along with a witty comment that sat on her tongue. Then she opened her mouth, ready to give the blonde a half-ass apology before Peeta spoke up in Katniss's defense. "Actually, she has three minutes," and he nodded toward the clock above Glimmer's head.

Glimmer seemed to flush in embarrassment from being corrected. Peeta shot Katniss a secret smile, though Katniss declined to offer one in return. Her face turned down into a scowl, and this seemed to surprise Peeta. She doesn't need the new student doctor fighting her battles. Before they can rope her into their conversation, Katniss stormed out of the room, tossing her half-eaten carrot in the garbage near the door.

* * *

Katniss ignored Peeta over the last couple of days she came into work, choosing to walk in and out of the break room. It isn't until her last day of the workweek that Peeta approached her. He had changed to day shift, following Dr. Aurelis into each of the patient's recovery rooms. She was on her lunch break, tearing into her ham and cheese sandwich while she scrolled through Facebook.

Peeta walked into the room, stopping short when he saw Katniss at the table. She grimaced and solely focused on some ridiculous video on the tiny screen in front of her. He walked over to the fridge, and Katniss sneaked a glance to see him pull out his orange lunch bag. _Great._

The chair across from her is pulled open, the feet screeching uncomfortably against the tile floor. She tried to hide behind her phone, a fruitless effort, for the phone was hardly the size of her hand. Her phone locked after two minutes, all of her attention and annoyance focused on the other side of the table.

She took another large bite from her sandwich, peaking the curly blonde hairs of Peeta's head from the top of her blank screen. No matter where she moved her phone, he was still in her peripheral. However, Peeta took this as an invitation to start up a conversation.

"Your," he started, but Katniss cut him off, bringing her phone down to glare at him.

"Look, whatever game you're playing, it will not work on me. So go bug one of the other nurses," she sneered.

Shock etched across Peeta's face at her outburst, before his mouth turned down into a frown."I was letting you know that your top is inside out."

Katniss looked down at herself, and sure enough, the white tag of her top is in plain sight. Humiliation burned her cheeks; she was such an idiot. "Oh, uh, thanks."

He nodded but didn't talk to her further for the rest of her lunch break. Before Katniss returned to her shift, she walked to the women's bathroom to adjust her top and splash icy water onto her face. This helped reduce the redness in her face, but it did nothing for the shame she felt.

* * *

On her only day off, Katniss spent it feeling like an ass. Usually, she didn't care about getting snappy with her coworkers. The feeling of remorse often wore off after a few minutes. Yet, this time, she couldn't help but consider that her attitude toward Peeta didn't feel justified. He had only tried to help... on both accounts. Instead, she threw it back in his face; this was probably why her only friend was Jo. She never worried about what she needed to say around her.

Katniss sighed and concluded she needed to make amends.

When Katniss went into work on Monday, she waited for the right opportunity to get Peeta alone, which was on her lunch break. He occupied a seat at the square brown table when she walked into the break room, a pen in hand, while he quickly scribbled something into a black journal. Notes, maybe? Peeta doesn't look up at her when she placed her storage container full of soup into the microwave, or when she noisily pulled her chair out to take a seat at the table.

She blew onto her steaming soup, planning her apology with each puff of air. Still, Peeta, somehow made her feel smaller.

"I'm sorry if I upset you, or embarrassed you that day with Glimmer. I didn't realize I overstepped." Katniss slowly looked up from her spoon, disbelief slackening her jaw. She couldn't believe he was the one apologizing.

Peeta waited for her to reply, weariness swimming in his eyes; he probably expected Katniss would act irrationally again.

She sighed and dropped her spoon into her bowl. "You shouldn't be the one apologizing. I just... I was immature, so... I'm sorry." That came out easier than she thought, the weight from the last two days lifting off her shoulders. "You must think I'm a shitty person."

He smiles then, shaking his head. "No. Just... confusing."

Her mouth tightens in a slight smile of her own. "So, we can stop being, I don't know, weird around each other?"

Peeta laughed, "I'd be okay with that."

* * *

They ate lunch together all week. And the week after. At first, it was still weird; Katniss lacked people skills, as ironic as that was. Eventually, she warmed up to the idea of getting to know Peeta's life outside of work.

He revealed to her he liked to bake, allowing her to indulge in one of his delicacies he brought to work one day.

"They're cheese buns," he explained. "I made up the recipe a few nights ago with ingredients I had left in my kitchen." Katniss took a bite and moaned around the saltiness of the bread, strings of cheese melting in her mouth. "Do you like them?"

She resisted from licking her fingers in front of Peeta. "Are you sure you want to be a doctor?"

He let out a deep laugh, the sound sending butterflies to burst in her stomach. "I'll take that as a yes, then."

Katniss noticed that she was developing a crush on Peeta, the more time they spent together. It was the little characteristics that drew her to him, like the dimple that formed at the corner of his mouth when he smiled. Or the fact he took his coffee black, no sugar. 

She sat next to Peeta, eating her boring sandwich and grabbing apple slices from the Tupperware he placed between them. Peeta was filling out some clinical paperwork, but the silence between them felt… comfortable.

When Katniss's break ended, she picked up the crumby mess she made on the table, throwing it away in the trash. Before Katniss could leave the break room, Peeta stopped her with a question.

"What did you say?" she asked, turning toward him.

He gave her a nervous smile. "Would you like to _actually_ have lunch with me?"

Her heart palpitated as she processed what he was asking her. "Like a date?"

Peeta tousled the curly blonde strands on his head, the smile on his lips faltering. "Uh yeah. Like a date."

Her face broke out into a giddy grin. "Yes, I'd like that."

* * *

"So, when do I get to meet this roommate of yours? I'm beginning to believe she is nothing more than a figment of your imagination," Peeta jokes.

Katniss picked up a piece of bacon from the plate near her thigh. "I don't think you're ready to meet her."

"We've been dating for a month now," he scoffed.

"And I still don't think you're ready."

Peeta leaned against the counter between Katniss's parted knees and rested his hands on her hips. He stole a bite from the piece of bacon she was bringing toward her mouth, laughing when she scowled at him. Then he captured her lips with his in a soft kiss, her stomach swooped, and her heart fluttered.

When he leaned back, he smiled at her. "I like this." Another kiss to her nose. "A quiet breakfast with you."

Katniss grabbed his face between her hands, drawing his mouth back to hers. His hands slid down to her exposed thighs, strong fingers rubbing into her skin. She swiped her tongue across his lower lip before catching his cupid's bow with her teeth. He groaned, the sound reverberating against her wandering hands.

"Well, well," Katniss reared back from Peeta, a string of saliva following her. She peered around Peeta's broad frame to find Johanna leaning against the island, a smirk spread across her mouth. "So you're allowed to have half-naked men in the kitchen, but I'm not? What kind of messed up shit is that?"

Red in the face, Katniss threw a mutilated piece of her toast at Jo, which she quickly ducked away from. Jo snickered as she walked toward the hallway. "It was nice meeting you, Peeta," she threw over her shoulder, then left the room.

Peeta chuckled and looked at Katniss. "So... what kind of porn does she make?"

Katniss felt heat circulate in her face, but she laughed, shoving his shoulder lightly. "Jerk."


End file.
